- A new study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports found that lifting weights five days per week for a few reps was a more efficient way to build strength, compared to lifting one day a week for more reps.
- Researchers say that the rest you take between frequent sessions, as well as training eccentrically (or focusing on the lengthening or lowering phase of a move) may play a role in those strength gains.
When it comes to building muscle mass, a major question is often whether it’s better to lift as much as possible on just one or two days per week or to lift more frequently—possibly even every day. Well, a new study set out to answer that question, and the results suggest making lifting a part of your daily routine could be the way to get stronger.
Published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, the study involved 36 young, sedentary participants, divided into three groups doing the same arm resistance exercise: an eccentric bicep contraction. That eccentric action happens when the muscle is lengthening, such as lowering a dumbbell in a bicep curl. Participants used a machine measuring the degree of muscle contraction, and researchers also recorded changes in muscle strength and thickness.
One group did six contractions a day for five days a week, while the second did 30 contractions in a single day once a week. The third group performed the least work, with six contractions one day a week.
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After a month, the third group doing six contractions one day a week saw no significant changes in muscular strength or hypertrophy (a.k.a. muscle size). The high-volume group doing 30 contractions in one session didn’t show any increase in muscle strength, but their muscle size grew by close to 6%. And the group doing only six contractions per session, five days a week, saw significant strength and muscle thickness changes. Those changes in muscle size were similar to the 30 contraction group at about 8% to 10%.
These results of this new study were similar to one published by the same researchers earlier this year in the same journal, according to study co-author Masatoshi Nakamura, Ph.D., researcher at the faculty of rehabilitation sciences at Nishi Kyushu University in Japan. That study found lifting weights for only a few seconds daily can have an effect on muscle strength.
“This recent study and our previous one indicate that a little bit of daily training could well be the most beneficial approach for muscle strength,” he told Runner's World. “This suggests you don’t need to push yourself as hard as possible to see results. In fact, just lowering a heavy dumbbell slowly once a day for multiple reps is enough for a similar workout in the gym.”
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The exact mechanism for why frequency is so important is unclear, he added, but it’s likely related to how muscle adaptations occur during rest, regardless of training volume. The more often you lift, the more post-exercise rest your muscles get, which can lead to strength gains.
“The improvement you get from resting may be lost if rest [breaks] are too long, such as training done once a week,” Nakamura explained. “Muscles benefit from being stimulated more frequently.”
Training the muscles eccentrically also likely plays a key role in the strength benefits you gain from just a few reps a day. “Previous studies showed that eccentric contraction could exert greater muscular force than concentric contraction,” Nakamura said, adding that other research indicates eccentric exercise has greater effect on muscle strength than concentric. “Therefore, we believe that it is important to focus on the eccentric contraction in workouts.”
To incorporate more eccentric action in your workouts, simply focus on slowing down the lengthening (or lowering) part of a move. For example, lowering into a squat, to the bottom of a push-up, or down from a sit-up, on a count of three to five.
Although both studies focused only on bicep strength and growth, Nakamura added that the same effect could apply to other muscles as well—the biceps aren’t unique in terms of how they respond to frequent training.
“If you’ve been going to the gym once a week to do a heavy lifting session, you may not be doing yourself as much good as you could be,” Nakamura said. “It might be better to get some weights and do short sessions at home every day instead.”
In other words, a little lifting more often goes a long way when it comes to strength building, so squeeze it in when you can—even for just a few minutes a day.
Elizabeth Millard is a freelance writer focusing on health, wellness, fitness, and food.
